What Rabanne is known for
The metallurgist of fashion, renamed simply Rabanne in 2023 — chainmail 1969 bags, metallic party dressing and the 1 Million fragrance empire under Puig.
Paco Rabanne trained as an architect and treated fashion accordingly: his 1966 debut, unforgettably titled "Manifesto: 12 Unwearable Dresses in Contemporary Materials," assembled garments from Rhodoid plastic discs and metal rings with pliers instead of needles. Coco Chanel called him "the metalworker"; he took it as a job description. Jane Birkin, Françoise Hardy and Barbarella's Jane Fonda wore the chainmail; the 1969 bag of linked metal discs remains in production, re-issued as fashion's favorite going-out armor.
The fragrances built the empire beneath the metal: 1 Million's gold-ingot bottle became one of the world's best-selling men's scents, with Invictus and Lady Million completing a blockbuster stable under Puig, the Spanish group that owns the house.
Rabanne died in 2023, the same year the brand simplified its name to Rabanne. Julien Dossena's decade at the studio ended in 2025 — the succession continues, but the signature never moved: dressing as engineering, shine as a material fact.
In the press
- Associated Press 2023
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Chainmail 1969 bags, metallic party dressing, and the 1 Million fragrance empire
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